Tri-Parish Catholic Churches of Dodge County

WASHINGTON – When the U.S. bishops gather in November for their Fall Plenary Assembly (November 16-19), they will vote for a Conference secretary, as well as chairmen for six standing committees for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). 

The position of USCCB secretary is up for a vote due to the fact that Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend was elected during the bishops’ 2025 Fall Plenary Assembly to complete the term left vacant when Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, who was serving as USCCB secretary, was elected as Conference president. 

Each bishop elected will serve for one year as the chairman-elect of the respective committee before beginning a three-year term at the conclusion of the bishops’ 2027 Fall Plenary Assembly. 

The following bishops were nominated (listed under committee in alphabetical order):

USCCB SECRETARY-ELECT / CHAIRMAN-ELECT, COMMITTEE ON PRIORITIES AND PLANS

• Bishop Earl K. Fernandes, Diocese of Columbus
• Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend

COMMITTEE ON CATHOLIC EDUCATION

• Bishop James D. Conley, Diocese of Lincoln
• Bishop Edmund J. Whalen, auxiliary bishop, Archdiocese of New York

COMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS

• Bishop Daniel J. Felton, Diocese of Duluth
• Bishop Louis Tylka, Diocese of Peoria

COMMITTEE ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN THE CHURCH

• Bishop Steven J. Maekawa, O.P., Diocese of Fairbanks
• Bishop Michael M. Pham, Diocese of San Diego

COMMITTEE ON DOCTRINE

• Bishop William M. Joensen, Diocese of Des Moines
• Bishop Steven J. Lopes, Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter

COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL COLLECTIONS

• Bishop Mark A. Eckman, Diocese of Pittsburgh
• Bishop Gerald L. Vincke, Diocese of Salina

COMMITTEE ON PRO-LIFE ACTIVITIES

• Bishop John T. Folda, Diocese of Fargo
• Bishop Donald J. Hying, Diocese of Madison

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Christians "cannot accept the oppression of the weak and the poor, nor the unjust structures that perpetuate conditions of dependence and injustice," Pope Leo XIV said at his weekly general audience.

By worshipping Christ, "the Righteous One who died for the unrighteous," the faithful are called to work for justice, peace and fraternity, the pope said Oct. 7 in St. Peter's Square.

"The Church, therefore, 'has no fiercer desire than that in pursuit of the welfare of all she may be able to develop herself freely under any kind of government which grants recognition to the basic rights of person and family, to the demands of the common good,'" he said, quoting from the conciliar constitution, "Gaudium et Spes," as he continued his series of talks on documents from the Second Vatican Council.

Just as Christ was incarnated to reconcile the world with God, the Church exists within the world as a "sign of the incarnation of God, in order to manifest His plan to make us all His children in one great human family," Pope Leo said.

Journeying through history alongside different peoples and cultures helps the Church understand more clearly the scope of its mission, he said. That mission begins with helping people "be attentive to the profound questions of life: those concerning our origin and our destiny, as well as those concerning the meaning of love and suffering."

"The logic of profit at all costs and the manipulation of information risk exerting undue pressure on people to conform to a lifestyle centered on the consumption of material goods, but our hearts are made to look upwards," Pope Leo said.

The Church's mission also includes contributing to building the "earthly city," he said, although its methods and aims are not primarily political. Rather, the Church bears witness to "faith and charity, together with commitment for justice, peace, and fraternity."

To live the Gospel fully, Catholics must cooperate with the grace of the Holy Spirit so that their professed faith is reflected in their daily lives, the pope said, continuing his reflections on the constitution "Gaudium et Spes."

The discrepancy between professed faith and daily life, the council wrote, "deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age."

Living the faith in contemporary society also requires pastors, theologians and the faithful to discern what in modern cultures is worthy of consideration without "watering down" Christianity to make it more attractive, Pope Leo said.

"This requires a balanced mind, free from cultural trends, capable of viewing the world in a positive light whilst remaining steadfast in preserving and presenting the Gospel message in its entirety," he said.

The Church is not "above" or "beside" the world, but rather "grafted into it," Pope Leo said, and its ultimate purpose is that God's kingdom may come and "the salvation of the whole human race may come to pass."

"She strives towards this end above all through personal holiness and fraternal love," he said.

WASHINGTON - Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of the Most Reverend Peter J. Byrne, 75, from the Office of Auxiliary Bishop of New York.

The resignation was publicized in Washington, D.C. on October 5, 2026, by Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, apostolic nuncio to the United States. 

The Archdiocese of New York is comprised of 4,683 square miles in the State of New York.

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WASHINGTON – Yesterday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released proposed regulations to implement the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC), which provides a nonrefundable Federal tax credit for contributions to scholarship granting organizations. States must formally elect to opt-in to the program in order for the children in that state to be eligible for scholarships funded by the program. 

In a brief message, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Catholic Education, called the scholarship program a transformative opportunity for children across the country:

“The Catholic Church teaches that parents are the first and primary educators of our children, and that parents have the obligation of educating their children in the manner best suited for their development and needs. The Federal Scholarship Tax Credit will create opportunities for families to access much-needed resources to expand their options for choosing the best tools and learning environment for their children. I applaud all the hard work of the advocates for this law, the legislators themselves, and officials of the Department of Treasury who worked diligently on the proposed regulations for implementing the FSTC so it can be a transformative opportunity for children across the country in both public and non-public school settings.”

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV's journey to France aimed to show that a joyful or serene rebirth is always possible even after tremendous tragedy or terrible suffering, he said.

By visiting the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral, meeting with survivors of abuse and praying at Lourdes, and celebrating the Christian faith openly in the public square of a secular nation, the pope highlighted how the miracle of new life can happen when everyone comes together out of love for one's neighbor and the common good, he said during his weekly general audience Sept. 30.

As has been customary, Pope Leo used his first general audience after his Sept. 25-28 trip to Paris, Lourdes and Metz in France to tell people about the purpose of his visit and to thank all those who made the journey possible. 

He also repeated an appeal he made in France: asking the faithful worldwide to pray the rosary throughout October, "dedicating it in a special way to ending wars and achieving peace."

The motto of the journey, "That the world may have life," the pope said in English, "characterized the Gospel-centered nature of my meetings throughout the visit. For God alone, through his grace, can restore the Church and renew humanity, and it was evident to me that this is precisely what is occurring."

Notre Dame and renewal in France

The Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris, which was restored after a fire destroyed its wooden spire and most of its roof in 2019, "can symbolically shed light on this entire apostolic journey, offering a perspective that I would summarize in one word: rebirth," he said in his main catechesis in Italian to thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square.

Rebuilt and "more splendid than ever, the cathedral's restoration "was a test of the possible collaboration between the Church, the state, public institutions and civil society," Pope Leo said.

"The synergy for the common good should be the norm for institutions, political and social forces, and all those with civil and economic responsibilities," he said. 

"This is the message I wished to convey" to secular leaders and organizations, he said, "highlighting the fundamental criterion upon which such collaboration must be based: the dignity of the human person."

According to France's National Institute of Demographic Studies, the percentage of 18 to 49-year-olds who reported not belonging to any religion grew from 45% in 2009 to 53% in 2020, and 29% of the entire population reported being Catholic.

However, the pope said, there is also "a sign of renewal within the Church in France that has been evident for some years now, namely the remarkable and growing number of young people and adults seeking baptism."

A tangible and visible sign of rebirth "appeared in a surprising way" during Mass Sept. 26 in Place de la Concorde, which, he said, was a highpoint of his visit. "Priests, the choir and a remarkable crowd extended all the way along the Avenue des Champs Élysées up to the Arc de Triomphe and beyond." An estimated 800,000 people filled the streets, according to the Vatican.

Despite the vast crowds, "everyone was able to receive the Eucharist," he said, "This is the true reconstruction, the restoration of the Church that only God can bring about, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary."

Lourdes: dignity, care and healing

Turning to his visit to Lourdes, he said the shrine dedicated to Our Lady also represents "a message of hope and rebirth," especially for those who are sick "in body and spirit." 

This was another message "that I wished to openly reaffirm: every human life, in whatever condition, even in the most extreme frailty, retains its inviolable dignity and deserves to be cared for, accompanied and relieved of suffering with human compassion and with the aid of the means offered by science," he said.

Because Lourdes "represents for the entire world a sanctuary of the civilization of love," he said this was context for his meeting with a group of people who had experienced abuse by members of the church.

"I asked them to help me express to other victims too my own wish, and that of the whole Church, to listen to them and walk alongside them as they seek healing, acknowledging the pain inflicted upon their lives and working to prevent abuse," he said.

Metz and Europe’s project for peace

Lastly, visiting the city of Metz, he said, helped symbolize its role in the process of unifying Europe "as a project for peace in the wake of the destruction wrought by war."

After two devastating world wars, "Europe was reborn, founded on those principles of democracy, solidarity and fraternity amongst peoples, which owe much to its Christian roots," Pope Leo said.

"Dear brothers and sisters, may the public witness of love for Jesus Christ that we have seen in France be an inspiration to the whole Church. Let us not hide our faith!" he told Portuguese-speaking pilgrims.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV will address the risks of today's "attention economy," in which media platforms compete for and monetize people's limited, valuable attention as the theme for the Catholic Church's celebration of World Communications Day in 2027.

"A New Gaze: Paying Attention in the Age of Clickbait" is the theme for the day, which the Vatican and most dioceses will celebrate May 9, the Sunday before Pentecost.

The Dicastery for Communication made the announcement Sept. 29, the feast of St. Gabriel the Archangel, and the full papal message is traditionally released Jan. 24, the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists.

Explaining the pope's choice of the theme, the dicastery noted that "The attention economy, with its struggle for a few moments of interest amid the rapid and endless flow of content, is transforming not only our cognitive abilities but also the depth of our interpersonal communication." 

"The lack of genuine attention, fueled by digital culture, has accustomed us to a routine of rapid reactions, to superficial relationships, and to the ease with which we label and reject others," the dicastery said. "Yet attention is a precious form of generosity," with its Latin root signifying "to reach out toward the other and toward the truth."

What is communication in the age of 'clickbait'?

"Communicating is not about capturing attention, nor about selling it, but about safeguarding it as a precious resource for relationships," it said. "To communicate in the age of 'clickbait,' we are called to 'pay attention' and to rediscover a genuinely healthy attention."

"We are called to a conversion of our gaze: to look again, with attention and with love," the dicastery said. "Only in this way will we be able to see the world, others and even ourselves, as Christ sees us: called by name and loved."

Human communication changes, it said, "when our gaze chooses to encounter others rather than judge them." And Christian communicators, in particular, "can rediscover attention as both a gift and a way of seeing -- the gaze of Jesus, who saw and allowed himself to be touched."

"Communication is not just about words; it involves the entire person and asks us to look, hear and feel again in order to answer Christ’s call," the Vatican office said.

WASHINGTON - Each October since 1973, the Catholic Church in the United States observes Respect Life Month and focuses on reflecting more deeply on the dignity and gift of human life. This year, the theme chosen is Mary, Mother of Life. “Our Blessed Mother is our model for upholding the sanctity of all human life in every stage and circumstance. We entrust all our efforts to protect mothers and babies to her motherly care, which we greatly need at this time,” said Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, in a statement inviting the faithful into prayer, deeper reflection, and action during the month of October.

“Today, with easier access to abortion pills, the abortion rate is tragically climbing, along with increased health risks,” said Bishop Thomas. “This means that more women, many of whom have been misinformed about the nature and risks of the abortion pill, will have an abortion alone at home, without any medical supervision. It also sets up additional opportunities for exploitation by violent partners or human traffickers. These affronts to human dignity demand our response.”

Through a focused effort of prayer and action to stop the spread of the abortion pill, the Committee on Pro-Life Activities has encouraged the faithful to learn about the dangers of the abortion pill and take action by sending messages to pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies. “I thank the many thousands of Catholics across the country who have embraced the nationwide invitation to prayer and action on abortion pills, and I ask that we continue our prayers and advocacy throughout the month of October. Please join us at Respect Life Prayer and Action,” Bishop Thomas said.

Read Bishop Thomas’ full statement: English | Spanish.

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ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM METZ TO ROME (CNS) -- In light of growing concerns about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence, Pope Leo XIV told journalists he can still "sleep at night," even as he cautioned against dismissing warnings about the risks the developing technology could pose to humanity.

"If someone were to ask me, am I in panic mode? No, I'm not," he said Sept. 28 following his four-day apostolic journey to France. "I sleep at night."

"I do think that the concerns raised by many of the experts, specialists in AI, should be taken seriously," he said. "I don't think that that is fake news."

Protecting human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence has been a cornerstone of Pope Leo's teaching for months. He dedicated his first encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas," to AI and its role in society, urging governments, technology companies and the public to ensure that technological development remains at the service of humanity.

The pope told journalists that the Vatican has formed its own commission on artificial intelligence, initially as a way to coordinate how AI is being used within Vatican City and to examine its risks and benefits.

Since the publication of his encyclical, however, the Vatican has been contacted by people working in numerous fields interested in the issue, he said.

"We are trying to continue to promote dialogue, study, investigation, to find ways to make sure that AI does not get to a point where it could destroy humanity or remove humanity from the conversation," Pope Leo said.

"I am relatively optimistic that that can happen," he added, saying there are enough people seriously interested in addressing the risks. But he warned against allowing questions of power, competition and the race toward artificial general intelligence to dictate its development.

"We have to keep working," he said. "We can't just sit back and pretend nothing is going to happen." 

"To simply say, 'Oh, it's not going to happen,' and close our eyes to it, I think is probably not the most responsible way to go about that," he said.

While in France, the pope repeatedly urged political and social leaders to place human dignity at the center of the development and use of artificial intelligence.

Speaking Sept. 25 at the Élysée Palace in Paris to French President Emmanuel Macron, government officials, civil society leaders and the diplomatic corps, Pope Leo warned against losing humanity amid what he called a "paradise of machines" and said ethical discernment is indispensable if technological progress is to promote integral human development.

Recent incidents involving unsupervised AI agents have intensified debates over safety measures for increasingly autonomous systems. During the in-flight news conference, Pope Leo noted reports that AI companies were working to introduce "guardrails" and limits into their systems.

"There is no one, however, that says there should be no limits placed and no government regulation," he said, calling for political leaders, technology companies and civil society to work together to examine "what is happening already and what could be down the road."

During the roughly 20-minute news conference, Pope Leo also addressed clergy sexual abuse, the rise of far-right political movements in Europe, the war in Ukraine, France's tradition of strict secularism and the housing crisis affecting many European cities.

During his visit, Pope Leo met privately with seven people who had suffered sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. Following the meeting, some of the survivors told reporters that the pope had acknowledged the systemic nature of abuse in the Church.

Asked about those accounts on the flight, Pope Leo said several of the survivors had spoken to him about systemic abuse and acknowledged that some organizations within the Church had, at times, been abusive "as a system." But he said he preferred to distinguish between those cases and sexual abuse more broadly.

"Sexual abuse is first and foremost a human problem," he said. "When it happens within the Church, it actually has another whole dimension added to it because people's lives of faith are deeply wounded and sometimes even destroyed."

"There's a particular responsibility of the Church to walk with them and to help them seek healing," he said.

The pope also responded to a question about the growth of far-right political movements in Germany and their relationship with Christianity.

Pope Leo said it would be worthwhile to examine whether there is a relationship between the decline in participation in Germany's Christian churches and the growth of far-right groups, noting that some of those movements have themselves splintered as factions become more extreme.

He particularly warned about attempts to combine far-right political views with religion, saying Catholic and Protestant leaders in Germany have spoken out against such movements as "not an authentic expression of Christianity."

The values of the Gospel, he said, "are not about hatred and division, but about understanding and compassion and accompanying."

He expressed hope that people would participate in political life and "make clear choices for the common good and not for extremist ideas that perhaps will do much more damage than we are even aware of right now."

"Again, on our part as a Church, social doctrine of the Church: talking about, teaching about, preaching about what we believe are these life-giving values and not destruction, division and hatred," he said.

Asked about France's tradition of strict secularism, known as "laïcité," and whether his repeated defense of human life during the trip had crossed the line between religion and politics, Pope Leo said he did not believe it had.

"When the Church speaks about defending life, when it speaks about questions of social doctrine, we're not entering into politics, we're applying the Gospel to people's lives," he said.

The pope repeatedly spoke against euthanasia during the trip, including during his visit to Lourdes, as France implements recently approved legislation permitting the practice under certain circumstances.

"If that's politics, I did that, but it was not to get involved in French politics," Pope Leo told journalists. "It was to teach what the Church really believes."

Pope Leo was also asked to clarify comments he made earlier in the trip that countries must have the courage to sacrifice certain positions for the greater good of peace, particularly in relation to Russia's war against Ukraine.

He reiterated the Church's opposition to violence, hatred and an escalating arms race, criticizing the enormous sums spent on weapons while hunger, health, education and other human needs remain unmet. The pope said the Church must continue to encourage negotiations even when diplomatic efforts appear to have little effect.

"I believe that the Church has a responsibility to promote these values, continually inviting the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, other countries, to come, to sit down, to dialogue, to look for how to solve problems without continuing these wars that no longer make sense," he said.

"We cannot force anyone," he added. "Sometimes it seems that it can be useless, but we are going to keep talking, we are going to keep inviting, we are going to keep announcing the Gospel."

The pope also called for greater cooperation among governments, local communities and the Church in confronting housing crises that have made it increasingly difficult for people, particularly young people, to afford homes in major European cities.

A Spanish journalist asked Pope Leo about the case of Maricarmen Abascal, an 87-year-old woman with a disability who was forcibly removed Sept. 23 from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for more than seven decades.

Abascal had lived in the apartment since 1956 under Spain's old system of rent-controlled leases, but subsequent changes to national rental law restricted the inheritance of such contracts. A court ultimately ruled that her decades-old lease had expired.

Pope Leo said he was unfamiliar with Abascal's particular case but said situations like hers demonstrate the need to search for "more just solutions so that these cases don't happen."

"I think it would be a case where the neighbors, the community, the parish, the diocese or the state would have to come together and say: How is it possible for a case like this to happen?" he said. "What is the problem in the system that allows the case of an elderly woman with a disability or with some difficulty to be kicked out of her home?"

The Church speaks both about the throwaway culture and injustice, he said, but the housing crisis requires action from political leaders and public authorities as well.

"Many times we react only at the moment of emergency," he said, "but we have to see in reality what is the systemic cause of this problem and how to help."

Asked about his future travel plans beyond Latin America in November, and when he might visit Germany, Pope Leo said no date had been set.

"The only trip definitely planned is World Youth Day in Korea," he said, which is scheduled for August 2027.

METZ, France (CNS) -- In a French city that changed hands between France and Germany through two world wars, Pope Leo XIV used the final day of his apostolic journey to France to call on Europe to resist a return to nationalism and conflict and recommit itself to cooperation, dialogue and peace.

Speaking Sept. 28 in Metz, a city whose streets and architecture still bear the marks of its fraught Franco-German history, the pope repeatedly invoked Robert Schuman, the French politician and devout Catholic whose efforts to reconcile France and Germany after World War II helped lay the foundations of the European Union.

Pope Leo called Schuman a clear-sighted leader who understood the need to overcome opposition between cultural identities and build multilateral institutions after a war "which showed the depths of the evil that human beings are capable of when they believe that nothing stands in the way of their exercise of power."

"Today, sadly, war has returned, even to Europe: a new 'senseless slaughter,' claiming countless civilian lives every day," the pope said in a speech to French President Emmanuel Macron and political and clerical leaders at the Robert Schuman Conference Center Sept. 28.

Metz and the roots of European reconciliation

Metz is particularly symbolic of the reconciliation Pope Leo held up. Annexed by Germany after the Franco-Prussian War, returned to France after World War I and annexed again by Nazi Germany during World War II, the city today sits near the heart of a region where national borders once divided populations repeatedly through war. 

In an address to Pope Leo in Metz, French President Emmanuel Macron described the region of Lorraine as a land "wounded by history, disputed, conquered and reconquered," but also the place where Franco-German reconciliation was built and became a cornerstone of European integration.

Schuman's own life reflected that history. Born a German citizen in Luxembourg, he became French after World War I and established himself as a lawyer in Metz before representing the Moselle region in Parliament. After World War II, he helped devise a plan to place French and German coal and steel production under common control, an effort intended to discourage another war between the two countries.

More than seven decades later, Pope Leo argued that the institutions created out of that experience remain an antidote to the desire for domination.

International law and multilateral cooperation offer another path, the pope said, speaking in French, especially at a time when relations between people and nations are becoming increasingly "barbares," that is, "barbaric" or "uncivilized." The French president agreed, saying "war has returned to our continent and our Europe is being shaken by the return of empires."

Today, people "boast of lies and deceit," the pope said, but Europe's experience has demonstrated that divergent interests do not have to end in conflict. 

"Europe can help to break this cycle through the respect for others that it has learned to cultivate and preserve," he said. 

The pope also argued that Christianity helped provide the moral foundation upon which that European project was built, saying Europe owes a "debt to Christianity." 

Christianity's emphasis on the dignity of the person, work and responsibility, he said, helped make possible a culture of dialogue capable of sustaining societies and working "for peace and a reconciled world."

For Guy Bassot, a young French Catholic who attended a prayer vigil with Pope Leo at the Stade de France Sept. 25, the pope's message to political leaders is a logical extension of the Christian obligation to turn toward and welcome one's neighbor.

"For that unity, we have to make an effort, and above all our political leaders have to make the effort to lead and to put in place a method so that living together can work well," he told Catholic News Service.

Reconciliation across faiths and among individuals

But Pope Leo's appeal for reconciliation in Metz extended beyond relations between governments.

During an interreligious meeting at the Robert Schuman Conference Center, he said religious discourse must itself work toward the "disarmament" of hearts and words.

"Indeed, to invoke God's name in order to justify violence or oppression is to profane that name," he said. "Nothing that disfigures human dignity can claim to be inspired by God." 

Unity, the pope stressed, does not require eliminating differences.

"Our shared responsibility as men and women of faith is to bear witness that, beyond all borders, it is always possible to meet one another, forge friendships, and seek peace," he said.

In the face of injustice and division, Pope Leo said in his final homily in France at Metz's Cathedral of St. Stephen that "reconciliation is only possible when one has the courage to break the chains of resentment."

Humanity's path forward is ultimately "a love that cares for others and seeks to give trust regardless of the circumstances, even when confronted with the most difficult behavior to accept," he said.

LOURDES, France (CNS) -- At a shrine where the sick and disabled are prioritized, Pope Leo XIV said human frailty can never diminish a person's dignity, bringing one of the central messages of his visit to France, where the government recently legalized assisted dying.

"Here, no one is turned away due to their frailty," the pope told an estimated 150,000 pilgrims gathered for Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes Sept. 27.

"Your crutches, your wheelchairs and your hidden tears are not obstacles; instead, they are the very place where you are fully respected and welcomed, and where you can experience a transforming encounter with the infinite love of God."

The words reflected a central theme of the pope's Sept. 25-28 apostolic journey to France, whose motto, "That the world may have life," presented the visit as a call to overcome division and foster what organizers described as signs of "new life in the world."

Pope Leo told those who were suffering that they are "truly at the heart of the Church." In a world that places great value on wellbeing and progress, he said, the grotto at Lourdes offers a different measure of the value of human life: one in which each person is welcomed and able to flourish in the love of God. 

For nearly 170 years, Lourdes has been associated with healing following apparitions of Mary reported by St. Bernadette Soubirous in 1858. The sanctuary today draws up to 3 million pilgrims a year, including large numbers of people who are sick or disabled.

Against that backdrop, Pope Leo repeatedly returned to illness, vulnerability and the inherent worth of human life during his time in Lourdes.

Meeting sick people at the Accueil Notre-Dame, a facility at the sanctuary equipped to host pilgrims who are ill or disabled, the pope said the reflection of God can be found in every person.

"This truth is the foundation of our dignity as persons," he said Sept. 27.

Later, during a torchlight procession and prayer at the shrine, Pope Leo said the light of Christ never abandons the faithful, even when their lives are marked by trials.

"Those who are sick are privileged witnesses to this transfiguration of our lives through faith and love of God and neighbor," he said.

France’s assisted dying debate

His words carried particular weight in France, where assisted dying has been the subject of a years-long political debate and where a law establishing a "right to aid in dying" was approved in August.

The French National Assembly gave final approval to the legislation July 15 by a vote of 291-241, with 29 abstentions, after repeated disagreement between the National Assembly and Senate. The Constitutional Council upheld the legislation Aug. 14.

Florian Michel, a historian and theologian at the Sorbonne in Paris, told Catholic News Service that the issue has divided France for roughly two decades. President Emmanuel Macron has been a vocal supporter of assisted suicide, and efforts to pass legislation repeatedly encountered resistance in Parliament.

As the debate progressed, Michel said, arguments advanced by the Catholic Church against assisted dying began to gain traction beyond practicing Catholics and helped pull some centrist lawmakers toward opposition. 

The French Bishops’ Conference said in July that the consequences of this legislation will be unequally distributed among society.

"The poorest are likely to be the first to pay the price: not wanting to be a burden on their children or grandchildren, elderly people in precarious situations may feel pressured to die," the bishops' July 15 press release said.  

The Senate rejected the assisted-dying proposal during the legislative process, and a joint committee of deputies and senators failed to agree on a compromise text. Under the procedure provided for by the French Constitution, the National Assembly ultimately had the final say, adopting the legislation in definitive reading July 15.

France joins several European countries that permit some form of euthanasia or assisted dying, including Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. A number of U.S. states also permit physician-assisted death under varying levels of legality.

Pope Leo has personally intervened in that debate outside France. When Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker visited Rome, the pope said he urged the governor not to sign assisted-dying legislation and later said he was "very disappointed" when his home state approved it.

In France, the Catholic Church was highly mobilized during the legislative debate, organizing prayer vigils and publicly opposing the proposal, Alexandra Maclennan, a religious historian at the University of Caen Normandy, told CNS.

Before its final passage, Pope Leo delivered a strong message against assisted dying June 22, telling members of the Fondation Jérôme Lejeune that "medicine must never become a servant of programmed death."

"It's in this context that the pope is coming to give hope and to reassure," Maclennan told CNS Sept. 18. 

That mobilization is welcomed by some young French Catholics. 

Domitille Bellery, a young French woman waiting for the pope at the Stade de France Sept. 25, told CNS that it is important for the Church to remain vocal on political issues such as assisted dying because "the Catholic Church should be at the heart of society today."

"It's a society that is so lost, and where there is so much sadness, that the Church really should be at its heart so that we can experience peace in the world, so that we know how to live in community and how to live with one another, so that we can help one another and support each other in moments of weakness," she said.

Carine Diximus, a volunteer during Mass at the Place de la Concorde in Paris, said that France is in a difficult situation politically. She mentioned the euthanasia law.

"That troubles a lot of people," she said in an interview with CNS Sept. 26.

For her, the pope coming after the passage of this law is symbolic, representing Jesus travelling from town to town in Galilee, and the crowds followed him.

"It's about showing him that we are here, that we follow him and love him," Diximus said. "It’s a blessing, and we’re going to make the most of it."

The Constitutional Council's approval included protections allowing medical professionals to refuse to participate in assisted dying based on conscientious objection.

"I think the Catholic population welcomed this as a huge relief to have this possibility to object on conscience grounds," Maclennan said.

Michel, however, said questions remain over how durable such protections will be.

"It is fragile, because it is not written into the law," he said in a video call Sept. 23. "In two years, in 10 years, in a few years, it can disappear."

Michel said the Catholic Church has long positioned itself as a "moral conscience of French society" on major ethical questions, but said its intervention in the assisted-dying debate has been different from its role in debates over issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.

The Church no longer needs to publicly campaign as forcefully against abortion, he said, because its position is widely known. And revelations of clerical sexual abuse, he said, damaged the credibility of clergy when intervening on questions of sexual morality.

Abuse victims and the pope’s visit

That reality of abuse also hung over Pope Leo's visit to Lourdes. 

Ahead of his arrival, there was anticipation over whether the pope would address the now-hidden mosaics by Father Marko Rupnik at Lourdes' Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary during his visit. Father Rupnik has been accused by multiple women of sexual, psychological and spiritual abuse, and the Jesuit order he once belonged to has said allegations against him were considered highly credible. There is an ongoing trial regarding the accusations within the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

On his final day in Lourdes, the pope met with seven victims of abuse by members of the French Church and clergy. In the two-hour meeting, he privately spoke with each victim and listened to each of their stories, a communique from the Vatican press office said.

In a meeting with the country's bishops, Pope Leo said they have "taken courageous measures to respond through listening, the search for truth, justice, forgiveness and making amends, and through a firm commitment to a culture of prevention and protection against these crimes."

However, "you must continue along the path you have begun, maintaining the greatest vigilance," he told the bishops Sept. 27 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. And at the same time, he added, "your clergy need to be supported and encouraged." 

He also stopped before a commemorative plaque ahead of his meeting with the bishops that detailed the feelings of pain and anger felt by abuse victims.

"They will come to understand that an entire institutional culture chose to protect itself instead of protecting them," the inscription said.

During his Sept. 27 Mass, he spoke of the need for conversion and located the source of evil not in God, but in the human heart.

"How can our hearts not be moved by the conflicts that are spreading and destroying so many innocent lives?" he said. "Yet the evil of our time comes from the human heart. God is not responsible for it."  

Human dignity the focus of France visit

The pope's emphasis on the dignity of vulnerable people at Lourdes echoed a theme he had introduced from the beginning of his Sept. 25-28 visit to France.

During an evening prayer at the Lourdes grotto Sept. 26, Pope Leo prayed that France's leaders would be "ready to make sacrifices" and defend fundamental rights.

"May they keep France at peace within the family of nations, and may they make her voice heard in promoting the defense of fundamental human rights and peace in the world, rejecting the mentality of war once and for all," he said. 

Speaking at UNESCO headquarters in Paris a day earlier, the pope explicitly rejected the idea that human dignity depends on health or ability. 

"Our dignity is not destroyed by illness or suffering, nor is it dependent upon our abilities. Rather, it calls for loving care at every stage of life," he told UNESCO staff and leaders Sept. 25.

He also described a human person simply as "someone who is conceived and born," warning against a society in which a child is regarded not as a gift calling forth care and responsibility but as "a product to be exploited."

And in his address to Macron, government officials, civil society leaders and the diplomatic corps at the Élysée Palace Sept. 25, Pope Leo brought the principle directly into the political sphere, saying fraternity should teach society "to welcome life unconditionally."

"That is why I firmly reiterate that the protection of the right to life constitutes the indispensable foundation of every other human right," he said.